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Thursday, June 18, 2015

Resources for Navigating San Diego Comic-Con

Navigating San Diego Comic-Con

June 18, 2015

I joined a few facebook groups this past, and I have noticed there are a
lot of questions being asked which could easily be found on the Official
Comic-Con website if not Google. There are also many,
many blogs (which I found via Twitter) with some great information, and I’ve
only been following a few of them. I’ve
only gone to SDCC twice (2012 & 2014), but though I didn’t have a con badge
in 2013, I went to the Gaslamp District of San Diego to check out all of the
free “outside” events. I was also pretty
broke that year, so free was better for me since I take my teenaged nieces with
me. This year I’ll be heading down to
San Diego again for the festivities even without a badge, but sans nieces so I
can go to adult (21+, not porn) parties and events!!

Websites and Blogs:

These are great for general information, what to bring,
cosplay tips, and past experiences.

I don’t know how you like to prepare, but I recommend
checking out the websites listed above.
Even if you’re not attending with children, check out the Comic Con
Family blog anyway. Please do more
research on your own for your specific interests. I’m not a collector (too poor and no room to
put stuff anyway) so I’m not too interested in 98% of SDCC exclusive
merchandise, but if that’s your thing, there are many, many blogs to help you
out.

Follow your favorite bloggers on Twitter (Facebook, too, but
Twitter is better for immediate information which is CRUCIAL during the
con). If you’re not on Twitter, get on it! No one says you have to tweet a damn thing,
but you’ll have a much better experience, trust me. I actually ran into an actress I like on a
show by accident at the Hard Rock Hotel, and only recognized her (from behind,
no less) because she had tweeted a pic of her in her cosplay about 20 minutes
earlier. Otherwise, I probably would
have walked right past her and never noticed.

Twitter accounts I recommend:

For obvious reasons (I hope) I recommend following the
Twitter accounts for the websites and bloggers above, but here are their
Twitter handles for you:

I suggest following your favorite shows’, movies’, actors’,
artists, etc. accounts as well because they will often post updates if they are
or are not attending. Definitely
following production companies, too! The
local hotels are good to follow as well. Even the Gaslamp Quarter has a Twitter account, and who knows what information they can provide you!

These are “vital” during SDCC for updates:

For these you'll want to have your mobile notifications turned on.

Follow The Nerd Machine now for updates and announcements of
the tickets for Conversations for a Cause panels at Nerd HQ. Didn’t score tickets on sale day? Keep following during the con for updates
such as Smiles for Smiles opportunities, and last-minute standing room only
tickets for Conversations for a Cause panels.
Don’t know what Conversations for a Cause panels are? Check out The Nerd
Machine’s YouTube Channel for panels from past years. The ticket sales go to Operation Smile, the audience
is small (around 250 people), and the entire panel is just the audience asking
the panelists questions. These panels
are also livestreamed so you can watch them while you are stuck camping out for
Hall H or Ballroom 20, too!

Speaking of line-camping, do yourself a favor and follow
these two Twitter accounts for line status updates. These are not run by SDCC staff, but rather
by fans, but are quite helpful (and entertaining) for line length status and
updates.

As I mentioned above, this is a very small list, but I'm hoping I could provide the basic resources which every SDCC con goer (and those going to the outside events) can use to prepare for the chaos that is San Diego Comic-Con.

Preparation is vital, but being flexible will keep you
sane. You are not going to get to see or
do everything you want, in fact, you may only get to do/see 40% or less. Make a plan, and a backup plan, and a backup
plan, etc. and remember to relax and have FUN! Enjoy each moment and
experience!